Most Dangerously Ill-Conceived Theme Park Rides of All Time

The very idea behind theme park rides is to scare people. They attract the thrill-seeking, the naive and the stupid in their millions every year. Remember when you were a kid and you always wondered if the rides really were that dangerous? Well, turns out some of them were.
Neurotics beware: here lay enough horror stories to put you off your local amusement park for good, permanently rendering you one of those jittery guys who watch their friends plummeting through loop-the-loops while they eat corn dogs from the safety of a bench. Yes, we bring you the 10 most dangerous – and ill-conceived – amusement park rides of all time.

 Cannonball Loop Slide

 

As this list shows, New Jersey’s Action Park is pretty much the Mecca of bafflingly stupid ride concepts, so it was no surprise – sometime in the ’80s – that some genius at the park’s headquarters decided it would be a smart idea to invent a fully enclosed water slide that incorporated a complete loop-the-loop at the end. The ride was the only one of its kind, and proved so unstable that it was only tested a handful of times, reputedly following the apparent decapitation of a test dummy and, according to some reports, injuries suffered by employees who took the kamikaze plunge on trial runs.

 Alpine Slide

 

Alpine slides were seemingly only conceived in order to make use of steep slopes and save tightfisted theme parks some dollars. The concept is very simple: build a breakneck, winding concrete track way with shallow edges down a huge freaking’ hill and let the general public fly down it on a ludicrously temperamental cart with a mostly useless handbrake. Aside from obvious risks such as grazing one’s body practically to the bone upon bailing, actual deaths aren’t unheard of, with one unfortunate individual at a certain East Coast theme park hitting his head fatally against a rock when his cart derailed.

 Wave Pool

 

If you want our opinion, there surely can’t be a much stupider idea than encouraging crowds of untrained idiots into a deep body of water and subsequently subjecting them to increasingly intense waves. The wave pool is the scourge of the water park world, seemingly detested by lifeguard and visitor alike, and has developed a reputation in many parks as one of the areas that produces the most casualties. After all, what could be more unpleasant or dangerous than struggling for air and exhausting yourself whilst some greasy fat kid bobs up and down against you in the aquatic equivalent of a mush pit? Action Park’s Tidal Wave Pool had a notorious reputation, with one fatality in 1982.

Spinning Cart Roller Coasters

 

When we were kids our favorite ride at the fun fair was the waltzer. You know – the one where you get strapped into a circular, spinning carriage and subsequently thrown around a huge circle by a toothless corny controlling a lever. Considering the fact that safety precautions on these rides involve little more than a rusty bar and a sudden belief in God, you’ve got to be totally nuts to attach one of its deathtrap carriages to a freaking’ roller coaster. But attach it they did, bolting it onto a Wild Mouse roller coaster. This particular example of G-force stupidity, known as the Treetop Twister, eventually – and inevitably – caused a fatality at UK amusement park Lightwater Valley when an unfortunate girl was killed following a computer malfunction when two carts collided. There are various reports of other deaths and casualties in similar such rides around the world.

 Human Trebuchet

 

Can there be a stupider idea on earth than literally catapulting a human from a fully-sized replica of a medieval weapon originally designed to hurl boulders at castles? The idea behind this ride – thankfully not a theme park staple – is that you land safely on a huge net in the distance and hop off happily to go and change your underwear and have another go.
However, the concept backfired in the UK at Middlemoor Water Park, when an Oxford University student missed the safety net and ended up a mere smear on the grass. Two men were arrested and a huge collective “told you so” no doubt echoed throughout Britain.

 Vertical Log Flume

 

Is it any wonder that if one builds a water-based attraction with a near vertical drop, it’s going to cause an accident at some point during its lifespan? There have been several incidents involving these kinds of rides since they became a common feature in any self-respecting amusement park, including at least two tragically fatal mishaps. In the UK a young girl plunged 100 feet, at Oakwood Theme Park, after the safety bars holding riders in place at the very top of the drop were not checked properly. And three years earlier in a very similar incident, a 40-year-old woman at Knott’s Berry Farm, California was sent to an early grave after her ‘extreme body size’ incurred gravity’s wrath on the park’s Perilous Plunge attraction.

 River Rafting Ride

 

Putting the possibly-inebriated and definitely highly giddy patrons of a theme park in charge of significant elements of a ride is probably not a fantastic idea. With river rapids rides a handful of passengers are placed in a circular rubber and plastic dinghy – often with a wheel in the middle to let them spin them round – then sent down a poop–inducing series of ‘rapids.’ It’s far from unheard of for the vessels to capsize – with potentially fatal consequences if one is strapped in and trapped underneath.

 SCAD Dive

 

The nature of this particular attraction is so darned stupid that a scientist has used one to test human reactions to extreme levels of fear. One is hoisted to the top of a huge structure in a cage, attached to one paltry harness (only designed to keep you facing up), and then subjected to a 75 mph free fall onto a net from 160 feet up.
All well and good if everything is checked properly, but for the neurotics out there there’s always one story of human error leading to hideous tragedy. At one particular SCAD dive in the US, a 12-year-old girl was dropped prematurely and landed on the ground. Luckily she survived, but fractured her spine in ten places as well as her skull.

 Mind Scrambler

 

It might be a generalization, but it’s probably fair to say that carnival rides are decidedly more dangerous than their multi-million dollar counterparts at amusement parks. And one of the most common features at fairgrounds and carnivals all over the country is the Mind Scrambler, a spinning, multiple-armed roundabout with carts that pass each other at worryingly close proximity. The problem with many of these low cost, high G-force rides is that they tend not to employ such great safety procedures. Add to this the thumb less carnie eager to get the ride going and you have a recipe for disaster. Indeed, there have been cases where seatbelts weren’t correctly worn resulting, in accidents, and in one case a young girl was killed because the ride was started while she was essentially still clambering aboard.

 Kayak Experience

 

One more massive no-no at a water park is the introduction of electricity to H₂0. However, at Action Park in New Jersey – where else? – They figured they’d do just that! The Kayak Experience was a fixed boat ride down a narrow channel imitating a real whitewater course. Each patron was given their own kayak, inevitably leading to cases of capsizing. What’s more, in 1982 an unfortunate guest at the park fell out of his boat and in the ensuing chaos somehow managed to make contact with the electrical current of an underwater fan, with a loose wire held responsible. He and two others were electrocuted and he died later in hospital. The ride was shut down for good.

 Lion Petting Zoo

 

Not technically a ride but an amusement at a park nonetheless (Lujan Zoo, near Buenos Aires if you’re interested), the notion of this particular entry, dubbed by animal experts as “an accident waiting to happen,” is fairly clear: pet the hideously dangerous carnivores – in this case lions, tigers and bears – at your own discretion. The thing about these beasts is that they have something of a penchant for eating other slightly less bulky creatures than them. One visitor remarked: “I love Argentina. People aren’t hung up on safety… I sat on a lion’s back.” As of yet nothing seems to have gone wrong at the Argentinean park, but with accounts such as this we imagine it will only be a matter of time before little Jimmy has to eat his creamed corn with his left hand.

11 Most Bizarre Burial Practices on Earth

1. Towers of Silence

 
Zoroastrians believe that the body is impure and shouldn’t pollute the earth after death through burial or cremation. Because of this belief, they have a communal Tower of Silence erected on the edge of town where they perch the dead on top of these towers and allow vultures and weather elements to destroy the body. After the sun has bleached and dried up the bones, they collect the bones and dissolve them in lime. This goes with the Zoroastrian belief that the body should be useful, even in and after death.
Zoroastrianism was the ancient source of Islam. It is also considered the oldest religion by many scholars. It is believed that it was this religion that begot Judaism, Christianity and eventually, Islam.

2. Tree Burials

The indigenous people of Australia place their dead up in trees. Like with the Zoroastrians, they allow the weather and animals to devour their relatives' dead bodies.

3. Viking Ship Burials

Since Vikings lived and died at sea, it was fitting to place the dearly departed Viking out to sea in his boat full of riches. Do you think they required "shipping and handling"? I have a feeling that scavengers of the two-legged kind would ascend upon these sea-worthy coffins!

4. Tibetan Sky Burial

The Tibetans were like the Zoroastrians in many ways. But, these people catered to the vultures and scavengers that would eat their relatives' dead flesh. They left milk and food beside the bodies to attract the animals, and would hope the scavengers would fly away with the body into the heavens.

5. Buried in a Bog

 
Do you hate traveling to foreign countries, spending all your savings for a well planned trip, only to come across a well-preserved body hundreds of years old? Then, you would be in a bog in Europe somewhere. This was the way Europeans buried their relatives in the middle Ages - dump grandma in a bog. They should rename this era the "Bog Ages."
As plagues and death swept Europe, tombs and other more sanitary means of burying people became more common during the later part of the middle Ages. However, funerals were still only for the most elite.

6. Burning the Widow 

Hindus believe that when a man dies, a woman should light herself on fire and go to eternity with her husband as the ultimate marital sacrifice. Though currently outlawed, Sati is still practiced in small numbers today.

7. Bury Me Once, Bury Me Twice 

In Melanesia, inhabitants of the Trobriand Islands buried their dead twice. First, they would bury them, then dig up the bones and carve them into spoons and other utensils. They believed this was an act of piety. Eventually, these utensils were placed in caves facing the sea. So, when your kid asks where Uncle Fred is, just tell him that he's a spoon, looking out into the sea. There's nothing creepy about that.

8. Paper Wrap, Burnt Dog, Pus and Gout

The Aztecs did funerals in style. First, they wrapped their dead beloved in a paper costume and if they believed that the person was bad or didn't die an honorable death, they were cremated alongside a random dog. The dog was necessary where the dead would eventually spend eternity because the bad or corrupt would end up in Mictlan, an underworld fraught with pus, gout, sores, bad weather and fierce beasts. However, if the person died in childbirth, in a war through bravery, in a lightening strike, or drowned, ironically they would be rewarded with an eternity in water, called paradise of Tlaloc. There, they would be greeted by a woman who died in childbirth. It was important to bury the good as a whole person, not cremated like the bad persons. They would also have pictures of mountain gods beside their bodies.

9. "Hanging Out" With Grandpa
The ancient Chinese hung coffins of their dead in tall trees or off cliffs. The coffins were designed to look like a macabre chandelier on a moon of Saturn. The Bo people, as they were known, hung hundreds of coffins like this. They would carefully place them in the best, most public view, proud of their rotting creations.
The coffins were hung, according to this site, at least 10 meters up from the ground. Some coffins were as high off the ground as 130 meters. Hundreds of these coffins have fallen to their peril over the centuries. Many of these coffins are being renovated and reattached the cliffs. The higher these coffins were hung, the more important the deceased was considered when alive. Subsequently, the coffins that did fall were a sign of fortune.
Word to the wise, if you plan to go to Southwest China, don't look up, especially with your mouth open!

10. What's For Dinner Tonight? 

The age-old question likely didn't originate from the Wari of the Amazon and Korowai of Papua; however, these tribes do have a very gruesome burial ritual. They eat their dead relatives. They believed that this was the ultimate portrayal of love for the deceased. They would also gain the wisdom and talents of the dead person that was eaten.

11. Dancing With Grandma

 
What is more romantic and affectionate than dancing with your loved and cherished family member? Those in Madagascar believe, in a somewhat new tradition, that the soul does not fully leave the body until it’s decomposed - a process that may take a few years. Thus, once her body was fully decomposed, she would be dug up, re-wrapped in silk shrouds, and relatives would dance around the burial plot. It was like grandma had another birthday.
Many of the people in this region are conservative Catholics. However, with all of the joyous celebrations during the mind-blowing Famadihana (’turning of the bones’) ceremony, one would never guess it. These same people are so superstitious that they won't leave their house after dark, fearful of witches and ghosts who will possess their bodies.
The Famadihana ceremony only happens every seven years or so in any given family. The gleeful family members are excited to see their completely decomposed family member and try to squeeze into the cramped tombs. There is a lot of happiness and laughter and drinking of expensive liquor.
Do you know why most people in the world wear black during a funeral? Most people don't know the answer. It turns out that our ancestors believed that ghosts could possess their bodies during a funeral. Ghosts were extremely feared, before Hollywood made them famous, revered, and even sought after. The only way our ancestors believed that they could protect themselves from having a ghost snatch their body was to hide under black paint that they would cover their bodies with. Tombstones were placed on the grave not only to mark the spot but also to deter the living from walking on the grave for fear of possession. Eventually, black paint would translate over the generations as black clothing. That was a good thing, considering all the people in the world with skin allergies.

Secret Places Banned to the Public

Secretive Russian town of Mezhgorye

There is a town in Russia, called Mezhgorye, which is barred to anyone, except for those believed to work at the highly secretive Mount Yamantaw site, thought by many to be either an ultra-secret research facility, or be nuclear. Founded in 1979. The town is at the foot of the mountain, the highest in the Urals, at 5,381ft, where US satellites have recorded excavation projects, on a huge scale, though repeated enquiries about the nature of operations, at this maddeningly closely watched community, have been met by bland responses, such as it being a mine of some kind, or a repository for Russian treasures, and even as somewhere for government, in case of disaster, but nobody knows.

The mysterious Moscow metro2

Moscow, capital city of Russia, supposedly has a secondary, secret underground metro system, known as Metro-2, running parallel to the public Metro. Built, it is thought, during Stalin’s time, KGB codename for the project being D-6. The existence of this phantom system has never been confirmed, nor denied, by the FSB -Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, or indeed the Moscow Metro administration themselves. Rumored to be much longer, in length, than the public Metro.  And to consist of four lines, running between 50 and 200m below ground it connects the Kremlin with the FSB headquarters, Vnukovo-2 government airport, plus underground town Ramenki, as well as other, undisclosed locations.

The super secret Area 51 Groom Lake facility

Area 51, a phrase well known around the world, is a military base, Groom Lake, in the southern portion of Nevada, USA, 83 miles from Las Vegas. Found along the southern shore of Groom Lake, the large, secretive, military airfield appears to be involved in the development, and testing of experimental aircraft, as well as advanced weapons systems research.  So closely guarded is this place, and so well monitored, that it has been the subject of conspiracy theory for decades. Even the U.S. government only reluctantly admits to the existence of this place, and the fact that deadly force can, and has been used against people trying to get into the Area 51 zone, really does make you wonder

The ultra secretive Room 39 of North Korea

North Korea, that most oppressive of states, is infamous for Room 39, sometimes called Bureau 39, one of the most secretive of their organizations, dedicated to seeking methods of obtaining foreign currency for North Korea’s leader. Established in the late 1970s and described, by some in the west, as the lynchpin of the dynastic Kim family dealings. Room 39 is such a secretive institution that none are sure exactly what goes on there, though it is widely believed that ten to twenty bank accounts, in Switzerland and China, are used in illegalities such as counterfeiting, money laundering, drug smuggling and illicit weapon sales. The organization has, reportedly, 120 foreign trade companies that it operates, under the direct control of the ruling family, who obviously deny any illegal activities. Room 39 is believed to be l inside a ruling Workers’ Party building in Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea, but nobody knows for sure

The Inaccessible Ise Grand Shrine of Japan

Japan has an amazing series of over 100 shrines, known as the Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred shrine in the country. Dedicated to Amaterasu, the Sun goddess, this wondrous place has existed since 4BC, and it is thought that the main shrine contains the single, most important item in Japanese imperial history, the Naikū. This is the mirror, from Japanese mythology, which graced the hands of the first emperors of Japan. Demolished, purely to enable rebuilding, every 20 years, honoring Shinto ideas of death and rebirth, the shrine is barred to anyone but the priest or priestess, who has to a member of the Japanese imperial family everyone else is kept away by very alert guards.

The terrifying Mount Weather Emergency operations center.

Mount Weather is not somewhere that that the US publics ever really want to goes to. This is the genuine article, as in the disaster films, where some highly classified area has been prepared, to accept the lucky few destined to survive. Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center truly is the real thing, set up in the 1950s, during the cold war; it still operates today, as a “last hope” area, though naturally highly classified. Federal Emergency Management Agency staffs, FEMA, are in charge of it, and already, when required much of US telecommunications traffic can be routed through it, so that emergency services operate well

The incredibly intrusive RAF Menwith Hill

The global ECHELON spy network, much employed by US and British governments, is the reason why Royal Air Force station Menwith Hill exists. Containing extensive satellite tracking ground systems, this communications intercept, and missile warning site, has been called the largest electronic monitoring station on earth. Ground station for satellites, of the US National Reconnaissance Office, serving the US National Security Agency, the station is famous for having antennae contained in highly distinctive white radomes. Believed by some to be part of the ECHELON system, reportedly created for the purpose of monitoring military and diplomatic communications, from Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc allies, during the Cold War, and these days I believed to search also for terrorist plots, drug dealing information, as well as political and diplomatic intelligence. Also believed to be involved filtering all telephone and radio communications in the western world, though not proven, this is an incredibly secretive and well guarded place that the public can never get into.

15 Most Disturbing, Vicious and Evil Serial Killers

15. Bloody Benders – America

 

Bloody Benders is a family of serial killers who owned a small general store and inn in Labette County, Kansas. They are known to have killed 11 rich travelers who stayed at their inn. The Bender family home had a large room that was divided by a curtain. They used to give a seat of honor to their rich guests, with his back to the curtain. Kate, the daughter of John Bender, would distract the guest, while John Bender or his son would come from behind the curtain and strike the guest on the skull with a hammer. The throat of all the victims was then cut to ensure their death. They used to strip the body in their secret cellar and bury it. They are the subject of many novels, books and plays, including Hell Benders (1999) by Ken Hodgson, Lyle Brandt’s novel Massacre Trail (2009), Cottonwood (2004) by Scott Phillips, Candle of the Wicked (1960) by Manly Wade Wellman and They Bite (1943) by Anthony Boucher. They could never be caught.

14. Shen Changyin and Shen Changping/Cannibal Brothers – China

 

These Chinese serial killers also known as Cannibal brothers, targeted prostitutes. They killed 11 prostitutes in 1 year from June 2003 to August 2004 along with 3 female accomplices. They ate their livers, burned the bodies with Sulphuric acid and flushed them down the toilet. They had plotted the murders after they lost money when their Lanzhou auto parts business failed. The Shens and Li were sentenced to death in September 2005. Three other female accomplices were sentenced to 3 to 20 years in prison.

13. Dennis Nilsen/Muswell Hill Murderer/The Kindly Killer – England

 

This vicious and psycho serial killer killed at least fifteen men and boys between 1978 and 1983 and retained their corpses. He was eventually caught when someone complained of drain blockage. The drain cleaning company found that the drains were congested with human flesh and contacted the police. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was initially given a 25 years sentence which was later extended to whole life tariff.

12. David and Catherine Birnie/Moorhouse murders – Australia

 

This vicious and soulless Australian couple kidnapped and abducted 5 women ranging in age from 15 to 35 in their home in the 1980s. They repeatedly raped them and brutally killed 4 of them. The way they raped and killed these women was extremely inhuman, vicious and brutal. They buried them in a forest. Their final and the only victim to survive their attacks was seventeen-year-old Kate Moir. She managed to escape and contacted the police. He pleaded guilty. When asked why he pleaded guilty, he pointed toward the victims’ families and said, “It’s the least I could do.” He was sentenced to four consecutive sentences of life imprisonment along with Catherine. He committed suicide by hanging in his cell in 2005. Catherine is still in the prison under the orders ‘never to be released’.

11. Ted Bundy – America

 

This prolific and vicious American serial killer murdered over 30 white middle-class females between the ages of 15 and 25. Bundy’s victims were beaten then strangled. He was also guilty of rape and necrophilia. He collected the heads of the victims as souvenirs. He was executed by electric chair by the state of Florida in 1989. He killed women who resembled his fiancée Stephanie Brooks and had similar hair styles.

10. Dean Arnold Corll/Houstan Mass Murder/The Candy Man – America

 

He lured and killed 27 young boys with two younger accomplices David Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley. He raped them and then shot or strangled them to death. His accomplices found his victims for him for $200 each. This case is known as ‘Houston Mass Murders’ and is one of the worst case of serial killing in American history. He was killed by one of his accomplices.

9. Ahmad Suradji – Indonesian

 

He was a witch doctor and a ritualistic serial killer. He killed 42 young or middle aged girls and women in 11 years. He buried his victims up to their waists and then strangled them. In his confession he told that he had done so to become a mystic healer. He put the blame on the ghost of his father who came in his dream and directed him to kill these women and drink their saliva if he wants to become a mystic healer. He was executed by firing squad on July 10, 2008.

8. Alexander Pichushkin/Chessboard Killer/The Bitsa Park Maniac – Russia

 

This vicious and cruel evil minded killer killed 48 people, most of which were elderly homeless men in Southwest Moscow’s Bitsa Park. He found pleasure in killing and killed in competition with Russia’s most notorious serial killer, Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 of killing 52 children and young women in 12 years. He killed them by smashing their heads with a hammer from the back to avoid splashing of blood on his face. He asked the Russian court to add an additional 11 victims to his body count, bringing his claimed death toll to 60 and 3 surviving victims. He is in life imprisonment, the first 15 years of which he will spend in solitary confinement.

7. Gary Leon Ridgway/The Green River Killer – America

 

This brutal murder had 48 charges of aggravated first degree murder. He is also known as the Green River Killer because his first 5 victims were found by the Green River. He in a statement said that killing young women was his career, most of which were prostitutes. In 2005 he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

6. Andrei Chikatilo/The Red Ripper/The Rostov Ripper – Russia

 

The vicious evil beast killed 53 women and children (of both genders) for sexual satisfaction. They were killed in different ways but all were mutilated. Andrei Chikatilo was shot and executed on February 14, 1994.

5. Yang Xinhai/Monster Killer – China

 

This cruel and soulless serial killer committed 65 murders and 23 rapes between 1999 and 2003. His DNA got him caught. Yang was executed on February 14, 2004, by a gunshot to the back of the head

4. Carl Eugene Watts/Coral – America

 

Watts was an African American and killed more than 100 white females between the ages of 14 and 44. He did the first murder at the age of 20 in 1974. He kidnapped his victims from their homes, torturing them, and then murdering them. Watts initially confessed the murder of 12 women. Later he claimed to have killed 40 women and has also implied that there were more than 80 victims in total. Police considers Watts a suspect in 90 unsolved murders. He was given a 60 years life sentence and died of cancer.

3. Luis Garavito/ The Beast – America

 

 

This Colombian rapist and serial killer brutally killed at least 140 young boys. He drew a map in prison indicating the locations of the skeletons of the victims. According to that the count exceeds 300. He raped his victims and then had their throats slit.  He was initially imprisoned for 30 years which was later reduced to 22 years.

2. Countess Erzsébet Báthory/Blood Countess/Blood Queen – Hungry

 

 

This evil soul Hungarian countess slaughtered six hundred or more innocent young virgin women in order to improve her complexion and also to maintain her failing grasp on her youth. She bathed in their blood. Her accomplices were executed. She, on the other hand, was bricked into rooms of her castle for house arrest till death. Her character has appeared in many dramas, plays and film.

1. Thug Behram – India

 

Thug Behram was one of the most lethal and prolific serial killers of all times. He was a member of Indian Thuggee cult. He may have murdered up to 931 victims by strangulation between 1790–1840. He used his ceremonial cloth for all the murders. Today Behram’s ‘confession’ is available in a manuscript on Thuggee written by James Paton, an East India Company officer working for the Thuggee and Dacoity Office in the 1830s. According to that he probably killed 125 men or 50 more and was present on the site at the time of the killing of 931 men. The evil was brought to an end in 1840 by hanging.